The German shepherds died of heatstroke in âexcruciating painâ, as the temperature inside the car reached 46C (115F), the court was told.

But the 39-year-old PC was allowed to walk free after telling the judge he was suffering from depression and obsessive compulsive disorder.

He said he faced repeated investigations by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the years before the dogs died.

That, along with the stresses of the job, had left him âseriously illâ, he told Nottingham Magistratesâ Court.

District judge Tim Devas hit out at a police culture which he said ignored âdepression and men cryingâ.

Mr Devas said the officer, who denied animal cruelty, had not intended to hurt the animals.

He added: âI feel a police officer has been let down and â this is for the benefit of the police â this is a dreadful error of judgment brought about by an illness way before it happened and PC Johnson should have been given more help.

âI have no doubt that, had he received the help he needed, then he wouldnât be standing before me here today.â

The court heard that, on June 30 last year, PC Johnson had planned to transfer the dogs to a police car but it was off the road as the air conditioning system was being fixed. He left the animals in the back of his Ford Mondeo while doing paperwork and, by the time he realised what had happened, the dogs had died.

He was found guilty of having âunnecessarily confined his dogs in an environment that was detrimental to their well-beingâ and was given a six-month conditional discharge.

The married father-of-one was also ordered to pay £2,500 in court costs.

PC Johnson still looks after a Labrador sniffer dog called Dash for the Nottinghamshire force.

Handout photo issued by the RSPCA of the car two German Shepherds died in